DJIA futures are pointed higher, as the blue-chip benchmark aims to secure its best month in four years
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures are signaling a higher open, amid a busy day of earnings and economic data. Already hitting the Street were better-than-expected earnings from blue chips Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) and Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX), which could end up burning
recent option bears. Against this backdrop, traders appear to be overlooking a smaller-than-forecast rise in personal income. In fact, as we head into the final session of October, the Dow is eyeing its best single-month performance in four years, sitting on a 9% gain as of Thursday's close.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
And now, on to the numbers…
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are more than 50 points above fair value.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- Tokyo-based stocks rallied following the Bank of Japan's decision on monetary policy, while European markets are feeling the heat from downbeat earnings.
- The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 920,482 call contracts traded on Thursday, compared to 517,364 put contracts. The resultant single-session equity put/call ratio inched up to 0.56, while the 21-day moving average remained at 0.70.
- Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc's (NYSE:VRX) relationship with specialty pharmacy Philidor -- which prompted Citron Research to accuse the drugmaker of fraud -- has been terminated, with VRX CEO J. Michael Pearson saying, "We have lost confidence in Philidor's ability to continue to operate in a manner that is acceptable to Valeant." Interestingly, Philidor said it will shutter operations as soon as possible. VRX is down 7.1% pre-market on the news, adding to recent losses.
- CVS Health Corp (NYSE:CVS) has given up 3.2% in electronic trading, after the company reported mixed quarterly earnings. The early move is just a little more dramatic than what the options market was expecting.
- Alternative energy rivals First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) and SolarCity Corp (NASDAQ:SCTY) are headed in opposite directions in pre-market trading, following their respective turns in the earnings confessional. FSLR's huge earnings beat and upwardly revised full-year profit guidance has the stock up more than 12%, while SCTY is bracing for an 18% drop, following a wider-than-expected loss and a round of bearish brokerage attention.
Earnings and Economic Data
Today's economic calendar includes personal income and spending data, the Chicago purchasing managers index (PMI), and the final Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index for October. AbbVie (ABBV), Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD), CBOE Holdings (CBOE), Phillips 66 (PSX), and Seagate Technology (STX) will all report earnings. To see what's coming up on next week's docket, click here.